Previously, researchers thought Zika could only be transmitted from males to females, and at a press conference at the Health Department yesterday, Varma and First Deputy Commissioner Oxiris Barbot discussed how this new twist will affect how the city handles the virus.
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Friday capped the state’s busiest week of Zika infections this year, with 48 new cases reported, but there have been no cases of mosquito-borne transmission in Florida or any other state. However, most people infected with Zika never have any symptoms, so do not assume you are not infected if you do not feel sick. Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly, or an abnormally small head and brain.
Zika still poses the greatest risk to pregnant women. This first case of a woman transmitting the virus is a big deal – and any person having sex with someone who has been to a Zika infected area should use protection. She didn’t develop symptoms until the next day and they included fever, rash, back pain, and swelling of the extremities. Tests showed Zika infection. That same day she had unprotected vaginal sex with her male partner. Two days later, he went to the same doctor. His urine test was positive for Zika, though not the blood test. They found that she had an active Zika infection. Both she and her partner recovered, Brooks says.
“Although no cases of woman-to-woman Zika transmission have been reported, these recommendations now also apply to female sex partners of pregnant women”, the USA agency added.
For the reason that Zika can be transmitted from male sexual partners, the CDC recommends pregnant women whose male partners have been in location prevalent with Zika virus, to use condoms or abstain from sex during pregnancy.
The case came to light after a woman in her 20s visited an area in the midst of an active Zika outbreak and returned home.
The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and CDC released a new case definition for Zika that now includes reporting asymptomatic and symptomatic cases of Zika.
Nationwide, more than 1,300 people in all 50 states and Washington have been diagnosed with Zika.
The Zika virus has been found in saliva but it is not yet clear if transmission can occur through kissing alone.
Other research has hinted at the possibility of females spreading the virus through sex.
And there was one report of Zika detected in the vaginal fluid of a woman in the Caribbean island nation of Guadeloupe, a CDC official said.
“Each case is a tragedy”, Dr. Frieden said. There had been previous confirmed cases of sexual transmission from men to women.
In February, officials in Dallas confirmed the first case of the virus being contracted by male to female via sexual intercourse.
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The case likely does not complicate efforts to fight the virus or show an important additional pathway for transmission, Brooks said, because female-to-male transmission is relatively hard. However, the CDC just announced there’s a new case in New York City that suggests otherwise. He also went to the doctor, and his urine tested positive for Zika, but his blood did not. She started her period on the second day after returning, which she said was heavier than usual.
